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It could have been worse for BJP in MP and Rajasthan, claims RSS

Losing MP and Rajasthan, where sangh has big resources, could be seen as a major loss for the RSS.

| ET Bureau | Dec 13, 2018, 14:36 IST

An RSS functionary said during the meetings between BJP chief Amit Shah and RSS general secretary Suresh Bhaiy... Read More

(This story originally appeared in on Dec 12 , 2018)

(This article was originally published by The Economic Times on 13/12/2018.)

NEW DELHI: A few days ago, amid campaigning, Shivraj Singh Chouhan visited the RSS office in Bhopal around midnight, where top sangh leaders were waiting for him. According to one of them present there, the CM was told that while he was popular, his government could still lose the mandate.

“We had warned him that he may lose because of his incumbent MLAs,” the leader added.

According to another top RSS member, it was the Sangh that helped the BJP contain anger among farmers and retain core voters in MP. In Rajasthan, the member claimed, where the RSS had resolved to focus on 2019 and be largely in “wait-and-watch mode”, the functionaries engaged in last-mile 20-day campaign to ensure dignity in loss.

Unlike the relationship of the RSS with Vasundhara Raje which is generally seen as bitter, the sangh shares a cordial relationship with Chouhan. Last year, when some local RSS leaders went to seek his blessings for a website launch, he immediately agreed to it. The sangh's proposals, be it reviving the gurukul system of learning in the State or promoting the national game of hockey, among many others have been accepted and implemented by Chouhan. Chouhan's low profile style of working and his obedience to the RSS and submission to their demands went down well with the parivar, while Raje was perceived as "inaccessible," by many of them. "She wouldn't even meet us to hear out our concerns, while he was always in touch with us, taking advice from us, be it during Mandsaur crisis or even during the time allegations of corruption were being thrown at him," a senior RSS leader who hails from Malwa, said.

RSS leaders told ET that they stayed away from Chhattisgarh because the state’s sangh leadership felt that Raman Singh had not done enough to control Christian missionary activities in the state.

In MP, the RSS “brought out internal surveys, reached out to farmer bodies and coordinated with Chouhan in the campaign”. In fact, the sangh leadership, after getting a feedback in September that the farmers weren’t happy with the BJP, reached out to them, telling them that their problems would be rooted out. “We also appealed to our core voters not to opt for NOTA. We tried to convince people to bail out the BJP, especially Chouhan, this time,” said a Bhopal-based RSS?functionary.

Losing MP and Rajasthan, where sangh has big resources, could be seen as a major loss for the RSS. Both in MP and Rajasthan, it was particularly worried about the Congress’ manifesto of not allowing the RSS to conduct ‘shakhas’ on government land, if it returned to power. Suraj Dev, a Jhabua-based RSS functionary said: “At present, the RSS runs its shakhas mostly on state land. Any ban, as promised by the Congress, would impact our functioning.”

An RSS functionary said during the meetings between BJP chief Amit Shah and RSS general secretary Suresh Bhaiyaji Joshi, the suggestions of the sangh were taken into consideration. Dividing Rajasthan into three regions —Jaipur, Jodhpur and Chittorgarh, the RSS held about 10 meetings in over 30 districts, and also set 50 top office bearers to monitor door-to-door campaigns and tell people about the schemes of the BJP government, manage booths and raise issues underlying the Hindutva sentiment such as construction of a Ram Temple in Ayodhya, border security and cow protection.

"It was after we realised that Congress had messed with some tickets that we started working, because a complete rout would have damaged us more. Seats where BJP is seen as weak in north Rajasthan, Mewar, tribal dominated areas of Banswara, Dungarpur and Hadoti were identified for intensive campaigning," a member of the RSS said, adding that, "In areas such as western Rajasthan, particularly Marwar and others, many RSS workers refused to participate in campaign." "The Rajput and Jat karyakartas flatly refused from helping out this time. Hopefully, the situation will be different during 2019," he added.

“I see this election as one that was focussed on local issues. It was to fight anti-incumbency. We live in an age of multiple consciousness where people have growing aspirations. I feel, at a time like this, the efforts made by the PM and the sangh have minimised the losses the party could have faced,” said Rakesh Sinha, MP and RSS ideologue.

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